TWO meetings will be going ahead next month amid the chaos that was caused by IMH.

People in Swindon will get the chance to speak out about the IMH takeover of five GP practices.

IMH took over Taw Hill, Eldene and Pheonix surgeries and the Abbey Meads and Moredon medical centres in 2018.

But the Manchester based company quit after it was hugely criticised for the issues it caused.

Patients of the five GP’s struggled to book appointments causing them to protest outside the affected surgeries.

A number of the protests were led by Labour candidate Kate Linnegar who said: “These meetings will give people the chance to share their concerns. IMH aren’t staying and we have been told we won’t get another private company but we need them to explain to us how they are going to solve the issues that have been caused.”

Labour candidate Bazil Solomon is happy that these meetings have been organised. He told the Adver: “They have chosen good times so people can come after work. There are no excuses now, we need some action. Patients are anxious and happy about the meetings, but we need solutions on the day.”

Dr Sarah Bruen is the clinical chair for the Clinical Commissioning Group who are responsible for commissioning health care services. She said: “The CCG understands how difficult accessing primary care services has been for patients since IMH began working with these practices.

“Over the last few months, we’ve spent a lot of time meeting with members of the public and one of the clear messages we’ve been given is that patients want more information and this is a unique opportunity to provide that.”

Support has been given to the practices by the CCG who are trying to find an NHS provider that can replace IMH.

Dr Bruen said: “Not only will we be able to explain how the partnerships came to be and discuss future plans, but we will also use the time to build a constructive dialogue with the very people who have been affected by what has happened at their local practice.

“Of course, there’ll be a chance for questions too and our hope is that people will come away from these meetings feeling more informed and most importantly reassured that things are steadily moving in the right direction.”

They will take place at the Western Community Centre in Cheney Manor on September 2 at 6:30pm and on September 3 at 9:30am.